Winnipeg Jets defeat Utah Hockey Club 5-2

• Cole Perfetti scored his first NHL hat trick for the Jets.
• Nikolaj Ehlers had a goal and two assists for Winnipeg and got his 500th NHL point.
• Connor Hellebuyck made 17 saves for the Jets.
• Nick Schmaltz and Barrett Hayton scored for Utah.

Recap

The Winnipeg Jets defeated the Utah Hockey Club 5-2 on Friday night. Cole Perfetti scored his first NHL hat trick for the Jets, while Nikolaj Ehlers had a goal and two assists to reach 500 points in his NHL career. Connor Hellebuyck made 17 saves for Winnipeg.

The Jets took a 1-0 lead in the first period on a power-play goal by Perfetti. Nick Schmaltz tied the game for Utah on a power-play goal in the second period. David Gustafsson gave Winnipeg a 2-1 lead in the second period, but Barrett Hayton tied the game for Utah early in the third period.

Perfetti scored his second goal of the game to give the Jets a 3-2 lead midway through the third period. Ehlers then extended the Jets’ lead to 4-2 with a breakaway goal. Perfetti scored his third goal of the game into an empty net to seal the win for the Jets.

Ehlers reaches milestone

Ehlers’ goal in the third period was his 216th career goal, giving him 500 points in his NHL career. He is the first player born in Denmark to reach 500 points in the NHL.

Perfetti’s hat trick

Perfetti’s hat trick was the fifth scored by a Jets player this season, tying the Colorado Avalanche for the most by one team.

Other notes

• Schmaltz has 10 points (four goals, six assists) in an eight-game point streak.
• Hayton has four goals in a three-game goal streak, six points (two assists) in a four-game point streak and eight points (four goals, four assists) in his past five games.

By Vitalina Andrushchenko, Staff Writer